HOW TO HAVE A BIG HARVEST ------------------------------------------------- A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. PROVERBS 11: 25 NJV ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE REASON MANY people are not growing is because they are not sowing. They are living self-centered lives. Unless they change their focus and start reaching out to others,they will probably re- main in a depressed condition,emotionally, financially,socially, and spiritually. The Scripture says, Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap ( Galatians 6:7 NKJV).All through the Bible,we find the principle of sowing and reaping. Just as a farmer must plant some seeds if he hopes to reap the harvest,we, too, must plant some good seeds in the fields of our families,careers, businesses,and personal relationships. What if the farmer decided that he didnt really feel like plant- ing,that he was tired,so he felt led to sit around and hope the harvest would come in? Hed be waiting around his whole life! No, he must get the seed in the ground. Thats the principle God established.In the same way,if we want to reap good things, we, too, must sow some good seeds. Notice, we reap what we sow.If you want to reap happiness,you have to sow somehappiness seeds by making other people happy.If you want to reap financial blessings,you must sow financial seeds in the lives of others.If you want to reap friendships, you should sow a seed and be a friend. Some people say, Joel, Ive got a lot of problems of my own.I dont care about sowing seeds. I want to know how I can get out of my mess. This is how you can get out of your mess.If you want God to solve your problems,help solve somebody elses problem. In biblical times,a great famine struck the land of Canaan. Peo- ple didnt have any food or water, and they were in desperate need. So Isaac did something that people without insight may have thought rather odd: In the middle of that famine,Isaac sowed a seed in the land.And in the same year he received one hundred times what he planted and the Lord rewarded him greatly ( see Genesis 26:12). In his time of need,Isaac didnt wait around, ex- pecting someone else to come to his rescue.No, he acted in faith. He rose up in the midst of that famine and sowed a seed. God su- pernaturally multiplied that seed,and it brought him out of his need. Maybe you are in some sort of famine today. It could be a fi- nancial famine,or maybe youre simply famished for friends.Its possible you need a physical healing.Perhaps you need peace in your home.Whatever the need,one of the best things you can do is to get your mind off yourself and help meet somebody elses need.Sow some seeds of happiness.Thats the way to receive a huge harvest. The Bible says, In times of difficulty,trust in the Lord and do good ( See Psalm 37:1-3 ). Its not enough to say,God,I trust You. I know You are going to meet all my needs. Thats like the farmer not planting any seeds and expecting a fabulous harvest. Scripture says there are two things we must do in times of trouble. First, we must trust in the Lord: and second,we must go out and do something good.Go out and sow some seeds. If you need a fi- nancial miracle,go buy somebody a cup of coffee tomorrow morning,or give a little extra in the offering at church.If you dont have any money,do some physical work for somebody; mow somebodys lawn,pull some weeds,wash their windows. Make someone a pie.Do something to get some seed in the ground. If you are lacking in friends, dont sit at home alone month after month, feeling sorry for yourself.Go to the nursing home and find someone else who is lonely whom you can befriend. Go to the hospital and find somebody you can cheer up.If youll start sowing seeds of friendship,God will bring somebody great into your life. When you make other people happy, God will make sure that your life is filled with joy. We need to be more seed-oriented than need-oriented. In your time of need,dont sit around thinking about what you lack. Think about what kind of seed you can sow to get yourself out of that need. In my book Your Best Life Now, I told a story about Lakewood Churchs first building program. We didnt have mush money,but there was a little Spanish church down the street that had plans to construct a new sanctuary,too. One Sunday morning my dad got up and announced to the congregation that we were going to take up a special offering,not for our new building, but for that little Spanish church. Several thousand dollars came in that morning, and we sent the check straight down the road. The truth is, we needed the money more than they did,but Daddy understood it was more important that we get some seed in the ground. Amaz- ingly,it wasnt long before we had all the money we needed to get to work on our building project. We built that structure,plus sev- eral others,and down through the years, weve lived by that principle: In the time of need,sow a seed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TODAYS PRAYER TODAY,O LORD,I choose to focus on the needs of others rather than my own. I believe that as I plant seeds of goodness in other peoples lives, You will do something similar in my own life. Thank You, Father, for the blessings that are coming !
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 23:35:03 +0000